Rare Paleontology Book: Abel, Othenio; Kritische Untersuchungen uber die Palaogenen Rhinocerotiden Europas. 1910

Abel, Othenio; Kritische Untersuchungen uber die Palaogenen Rhinocerotiden Europas. Abhandlungen der Geologischen Reichsanstalt Wien, 20 #3, 1910. Quarto, pp. 52, 2 plates.

The work is complete and in the original title wraps. Binding is tight, wraps are toned and brittle at margins which have been repaired with archival tape. The title page is lightly toned, text is uncut and clean as are the plates. In very good condition.


An Austrian vertebrate paleontologist; Abel, 1875-1946) travelled extensively doing work in Europe, the United States, the Mediterranean region and the Caribbean. In addition to his extensive writings on vertebrate fossils and the paleobiology of the vertebrate, Abel is also noted for his writings on the folklore surrounding fossils in Germany and Austria. For example, in 1914 Abel proposed that fossil dwarf elephants inspired the myth of giant cyclopses, because the center nasal opening was thought to be a cyclopic eye socket?Together with Louis Dollo, Abel is considered the founder of paleobiology and the study of the life and environment of fossilized organisms. His study of the Paleogene rhinocerotoids in Europe remains an often cited work. Within it he  names the genus Epiaceratherium which is still used today.